11 October 2013: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Forestry and Timber Section have released the 33rd edition of their newsletter, UNited Forests, which profiles the upcoming Metsä2013 and European Forest Week, to be held from 9-13 December 2013.

In particular, the newsletter notes the selection of Rovaniemi, Finland, as the host city for the joint session of the Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry and the European Forestry Commission (Metsä2013) and the parallel events organized under the umbrella of the European Forest Week.

With regard to projects and publications, the newsletter highlights the launch of a capacity building project for sustainable forest management (SFM) in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as upcoming launches of the 2012-2013 Forest Products Annual Market Review and the report on payments for ecosystem services.

The newsletter also reports on the importance of innovation in the design and development of wood and non-timber forest products for a range of industries from medicine to aerospace design. Such innovations were discussed, as reported by the newsletter, at the UNECE/FAO/InnovaWood Seminar on Innovation in the Forest-Based Sector held in April 2013. [Publication: UNited Forests #33]